Britain's May should set resignation date next week -senior lawmaker

British Prime Minister Theresa May

British Prime Minister Theresa May should set a date for her
departure next week when she meets leaders of an influential group of
Conservative lawmakers to address her future, the group's chairman said on
Saturday.

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee, which can make
or break party leaders, told BBC Radio that May had been asked to give
"clarity" at next Wednesday's meeting after she failed to get her
Brexit deal through parliament, leaving the government in a state of limbo.

"It would be strange for that not to result in a clear
understanding (of when she will leave) at the end of the meeting," he
said.

May, who secured the leadership in the chaos that followed
Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union, has promised to step down if
lawmakers back the deal she struck with Brussels to leave the bloc.

But the prime minister has lost heavily on three attempts to
get it through parliament, defeated by lawmakers in her own party who want a
much more comprehensive break from Brussels and those who want a second
referendum to reverse the process.

Brady, head of the group which oversees the party's
leadership contests and represents the wishes of backbench lawmakers, said he
thought May had been reluctant to set a date because of the impact it would
have on any future Brexit vote.

"I think the reticence is the concern that by promising
to go on a certain timetable, it might make it less likely she would secure
parliamentary approval for the withdrawal agreement, rather than more
likely," he said.

Tensions within the Conservative Party have grown after May
failed to deliver Brexit on the original deadline of March 29. The prime
minister has since opened talks with the opposition Labour Party to try to find
a compromise before the next departure date in October.

The deadlock damaged both parties at local elections earlier
this month and could have a similar impact when elections are held for the
European Parliament on May 23.

One of the Conservative Party's prominent financial backers,
Jeremy Hosking, told the Financial Times he had donated 200,000 pounds to Nigel
Farage's Brexit party because the European elections had become, by default, a
second referendum on Brexit.